Mission Appeal 2020
The weekend of July 25/26, we will present a brief information for the support of Evangelization work in rural tribal areas in the catholic diocese of Warangal, India. This Evangelization program is aimed to carry the Gospel message to tribal people who live in rural areas and are deprived of the necessities like clean water, electricity, proper housing, education, healthcare, and sanitation.
Watch the video : Mission Appeal 2020
Read the letter:
Mission Appeal 2020
Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
What a joy for me to greet you in the one Holy Name of our Saviour Jesus Christ. I thank God, the Bishop of your Baton Rouge diocese, your bishop Most. Reverend Michael Duca,the Mission Office director Lennette and Fathers Vincent and Alec, the Parish Community. I am pleased to present you a brief information about the Mission work in our diocese by name ‘Warangal’ in South East India.
The greatest story ever told is the story of God
The longest story ever told is the story of God
The shortest story ever told is the story of God
In fact, it is not a story, or history but the mystery of God and the Mission of our lives!
In the great plan of God, the Diocese of Warangal was established in the year 1952 bifurcated from Hyderabad. It is mostly a rural diocese with many villages in remotest areas with little facilities for education and medical services. The people mostly depend on agriculture, which again depends on the rains only. They live from hand to mouth with their daily bread provided by God. But for other needs, they depend on others. Since they cannot afford education, they send their children for work with almost meagre wages. The diocese consisted of 5 civil districts evangelized mostly by the PIME Missionaries from Milan in Italy. Great sacrifices were made by during those times when electricity, sage drinking water, etc. were unthinkable. Gradually the local Clergy and the Religious came up and continued the legacy of the great missionaries. Due to committed efforts in Evangelization coupled by the grace of God, the Church grew rapidly. Thousands embraced the Catholic faith and many services in the name of Christ were provided by the Church, unheard during those days. The cooperation and assistance from Europe and USA doubled our joy and our diocese was twice divided giving birth to two new dioceses: The Diocese of Nalgonda in 1977 and Khammam in 1988.
The present situation of the diocese is: It consists of 2 civil districts with a total population of 92, 94,623 out of which Catholics are c. 70,000 being served by 94 diocesan priest and 59 religious priest along with 551 Religious women and 22 Religious brothers.
Warangal Diocese gives top priority for Evangelization and now, the New Evangelization. We carry out the command of Jesus to proclaim the gospel in ways: Direct and indirect Evangelization: Direct evangelization is still since fundamentalists attack and persecute the pastors and nuns. Our indirect Mission work consist especially by way of education for he rural poor children. Special focus is laid on the education of the girl-children, who are looked down even today. We have a number of schools, special schools for girls separately, l bridge schools for dropouts, medicine, social and charitable institutions catering to the needs of all people irrespective of caste and creed. The whole world knows of the incredible services Bl. Mother Teresa and her Nuns, who offer even today in India and all over the globe. The services offered by the Church in India and in Warangal too are far more to the proportion of the Catholic population. The need for our social and charitable and empowering services still exists. Our entire focus in on the rural people, who thirst for God’s Word and schooling with quality education.
The Church of Christ is universal, and its needs are universal too. In USA, there is a shortage of priest while India is blessed with good many religious and priestly vocations. Therefore, we can help you with priest-personnel to different diocese in USA. Many of our priests are missionaries in India itself, in the north and north east besides in the continents of Africa, Europe and USA too. God has blessed you with faith and financial resources. Thus, we are to help one another to build the Universal Church. Therefore, kindly be generous when the 2nd collection is taken up. We mutually support one another so that the body of Christ grows as we witness to our faith by helping one another. A time might come the opposite becomes true, but our catholic faith remains the same urging us to help one another.
The Church never becomes poor, as long as we share. Sharing in LOVE is the hall mark of Catholics, indeed all Christians. Sharing of personnel, knowledge, finances, etc. began from the early Church and it continues. God provides is our belief and He does it though the Universal Church and the local Church in different ways. I look forward to your generosity not only today but in future too. May God reward our generosity!